Press News Service PhotosShoppers and tourists walk past the R.K. Jewelry store in Grand Haven on Thursday where two men were shot and killed a day earlier. Police have covered the front window to protect the crime scene from onlookers.

GRAND HAVEN -- Two days after a jewelry store owner down the street was fatally shot inside his business, along with a longtime customer, Grand Haven Jewelry owner Steve Pitcher acknowledged his employees are a little nervous.

But it's Pitcher's 10-year-old daughter who is wrestling with her fears for her parents.

"She wants us to quit our jobs," said Pitcher, whose wife is a Realtor. "She's trying to get to sleep, and it's really bothering her."

Flowers were being placed on the front step of R.K Jewelers Thursday afternoon. Many were from downtown merchants, including a competing jewelry store.

Wednesday's murder of R.K. Jewelers owner Robert Karell, 61, and customer Louis Paparella, 76, comes on the heels of this week's shooting death of a Muskegon Realtor in his office, allegedly by a disgruntled former client.

Pitcher said his jewelry store has security features and his employees rarely are left alone, but the double shooting in Karell's store has left many shaken.

There had been no arrests, and Grand Haven Public Safety Director Dennis Edwards said the investigation will continue through the holiday.

"We're going to do whatever it takes to find out who did this," Edwards said.

Today, investigators were to continue poring through forensic evidence collected since the bodies of Karell, who lived above his store at 124 Washington St., and Paparella, of Roosevelt Park, were discovered Wednesday. Both men were shot in the head at close range with a small-caliber gun. No weapon was found.

Investigators were trying to determine whether the murders involved a robbery. There were no outward signs of theft -- no emptied display cases or money on the floor. Police said until they are able to conduct a thorough store inventory, they won't know whether there was a robbery, though it seems a likely motive.

Edwards said police have increased downtown patrols in response to the murders.

"Right now, we're one of the safest places to be," he said. "We have upped our bicycle patrols. We have extra officers on patrol and in cruisers. There are at least eight investigators who are walking around on foot down here, gathering information. We are as concerned as they are for the safety of this community."

Meanwhile, shoppers hit the city's streets in droves Thursday -- kicking off one of the most profitable weekends of the year for businesses in this tourist town. Many walked by the front of R.K Jewelers, where flowers had been placed on the front steps -- many of them from downtown merchants.

Michelle Dolby, who co-owns the catering business Elegance of the Seasons, said the "shock and disbelief" she initially felt has been replaced by sadness for the victims' families.

She said she felt comfortable working in her Washington Street store, despite the violence that occurred a block away.

"I don't feel afraid to work in my store, I don't," she said. "This is Grand Haven; people are sticking together and staying by each other's side.